Latest news with #presscensorship
Free Malaysia Today
10-07-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
X blasts India's ‘censorship' order on thousands of accounts
X said India's government ordered it to block 2,355 accounts last week. (AP pic) NEW DELHI : Social media platform X said today it was 'deeply concerned' after the Indian government ordered it last week to block 2,355 accounts, including two Reuters news agency accounts. Many of the blocked accounts were restored hours later, with New Delhi specifically denying its role in the takedown. India, the world's biggest democracy, regularly ranks among the top five countries for the number of requests made by a government to remove social media content. 'On July 3, 2025, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets like @Reuters and @ReutersWorld,' X's global government affairs team said in a statement, shared on its platform. It said that India's ministry of electronics 'demanded immediate action – within one hour – without providing justification, and required the accounts to remain blocked' until further notice. The accounts were taken offline late on Saturday, but had resumed operations by Sunday. 'Non-compliance risked criminal liability,' said X, the platform owned by Tesla boss Elon Musk and formerly known as Twitter. 'After public outcry, the government requested X to unblock @Reuters and @ReutersWorld,' it added. 'We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders.' Rights groups say freedom of expression and free press is under threat in India since Hindu nationalist prime minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014. New Delhi has regularly imposed blanket internet shutdowns during periods of unrest. India in April launched a sweeping crackdown on social media, banning more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading 'provocative' content following an attack in Kashmir. Many of those of have been restored. New Delhi has also imposed intermittent internet outages in the northeastern state of Manipur since 2023 in the wake of ethnic violence. New Delhi has justified internet and social media bans as ways to curb disinformation in a country where hundreds of millions have access to some of the cheapest mobile internet rates in the world. X said its was 'exploring all legal options available' but added that it 'restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges', it said. 'We urge affected users to pursue legal remedies through the courts,' it added.
CNA
08-07-2025
- Politics
- CNA
X says Indian government ordered it to block Reuters News accounts in India
NEW DELHI :India's government last week directly ordered X to block more than 2,000 accounts, including two belonging to Reuters News, the social media platform said on Tuesday in a sharp public attack on "ongoing press censorship" in India. Two Reuters News accounts - @Reuters and @ReutersWorld - were suspended for India users late on Saturday, and displayed a message saying they had been "withheld in IN (India) in response to a legal demand". The Reuters accounts were restored on Sunday night but the status of the others was unclear. X's statement contradicts comments by a spokesperson for India's Press Information Bureau at the weekend who said no government agency had required the withholding of Reuters handles. "On July 3, 2025, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets like @Reuters and @ReutersWorld, under Section 69A of the IT Act. Non-compliance risked criminal liability," X said in its post. "We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders. X is exploring all legal options available," it added. Reuters could not determine what specific content the blocking demand referred to and why its removal was sought. Section 69A of India's IT law allows the government to block public access to content "in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state". Orders issued under the section are confidential in nature. In a statement, India's IT ministry said the government had "not issued any fresh blocking order" on July 3. It did not say if an order was issued before that date. The government did not intend to block any prominent international news channel, including Reuters, and had written to X over the weekend to unblock the news agency's accounts, the ministry said. "X has unnecessarily exploited technicalities involved around the process and didn't unblock the URLs," it added. The social media platform in its statement said the Indian government had asked it to restore access to @Reuters and @ReutersWorld after a "public outcry." A Reuters spokesperson at the weekend said the news agency was working with X to get its accounts reinstated in India as soon as possible. On Tuesday, she said the agency had no further comment. The main Reuters account has more than 25 million followers globally, while Reuters World has 718,000. X has long been at odds with India's government over content-removal requests. In March, the company sued the federal government over a new government website the company says expands takedown powers to "countless" government officials. The case is continuing.
Al Jazeera
08-07-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
‘Deeply concerned' over India press censorship, says X as accounts blocked
X says it is 'deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India' after New Delhi ordered the social media platform to block more than 2,300 accounts, including two Reuters news agency handles. X restored the Reuters News account in India on Sunday, a day after it was allegedly asked by the Indian government to suspend it, citing a legal demand. Many other blocked accounts were also restored, with New Delhi denying its role in the takedown. In a post on Tuesday, X, promoted by billionaire Elon Musk, said the Indian government on July 3 ordered it to block 2,355 accounts in India under Section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act. 'Non-compliance risked criminal liability. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology demanded immediate action – within one hour – without providing justification, and required the accounts to remain blocked until further notice,' X said. 'After public outcry, the government requested X to unblock @Reuters and @ReutersWorld.' On July 3, 2025, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets like @Reuters and @ReutersWorld, under Section 69A of the IT Act. Non-compliance risked criminal liability. The Ministry of Electronics and Information… — Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) July 8, 2025 On Sunday, a spokesperson for the Indian government's Press Information Bureau told Reuters that no Indian government agency had required withholding the news agency's handle, adding that officials were working with X to resolve the problem. The 2000 IT law allows designated government officials to demand the takedown of content from social media platforms they deem to violate local laws, including on the grounds of national security or if a post threatens public order. X, formerly known as Twitter, has long been at odds with India's government over content-removal requests. In March, the company sued the federal government over a new government website the company says expands takedown powers to 'countless' government officials. The case is continuing. India, the world's biggest democracy, regularly ranks among the top five countries for the number of requests made by a government to remove social media content. Rights groups say freedom of expression and free press is under threat in India since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014. New Delhi has regularly imposed blanket internet shutdowns during periods of unrest. In April, the government launched a sweeping crackdown on social media, banning more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading 'provocative' content following an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. Many of those have been restored. New Delhi has also imposed intermittent internet outages in the northeastern state of Manipur since 2023 in the wake of ethnic violence. The government has justified internet and social media bans as ways to curb disinformation in a country where hundreds of millions have access to some of the cheapest mobile internet rates in the world. In its post on Tuesday, X said it was exploring all legal options available over censorship but added that it was 'restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges'. 'We urge affected users to pursue legal remedies through the courts,' it said.
Al Arabiya
08-07-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
X blasts India ‘censorship' order on thousands of accounts
Social media platform X said Tuesday it was 'deeply concerned' after the Indian government ordered it last week to block 2,355 accounts, including two Reuters news agency accounts. Many of the blocked accounts were restored hours later, with New Delhi specifically denying its role in the takedown. India, the world's biggest democracy, regularly ranks among the top five countries for the number of requests made by a government to remove social media content. 'On July 3, 2025, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets like @Reuters and @ReutersWorld,' X's Global Government Affairs team said in a statement, shared on its platform. It said that India's Ministry of Electronics 'demanded immediate action -- within one hour -- without providing justification, and required the accounts to remain blocked' until further notice. The accounts were taken offline late on Saturday, but had resumed operations by Sunday. 'Non-compliance risked criminal liability,' said X, the platform owned by Tesla boss Elon Musk and formerly known as Twitter. 'After public outcry, the government requested X to unblock @Reuters and @ReutersWorld,' it added. 'We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders.' Rights groups say freedom of expression and free press is under threat in India since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014. New Delhi has regularly imposed blanket internet shutdowns during periods of unrest. India in April launched a sweeping crackdown on social media, banning more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading 'provocative' content following an attack in Kashmir. Many of those of have been restored. New Delhi has also imposed intermittent internet outages in the northeastern state of Manipur since 2023 in the wake of ethnic violence. New Delhi has justified internet and social media bans as ways to curb disinformation in a country where hundreds of millions have access to some of the cheapest mobile internet rates in the world. X said its was 'exploring all legal options available' but added that it 'restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges,' it said. 'We urge affected users to pursue legal remedies through the courts,' it added.
